Mentors, mentees seek "lollipop moments"

By Ms. Jessica Marie Ryan (FMWRC)January 26, 2016

Culbreath and Queen meet at the College of Installation Management
1 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Sgt. Maj. Lon Culbreath (left), of U.S. Army Installation Management Command G1, poses with his mentee Sgt. 1st Class Sherri Queen (right), of U.S. Army Garrison Japan, at the College of Installation Management, January 15. Throughout this year, Culb... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Mentees present their capstone project ideas to IMCOM senior leaders
2 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Unique to the Headquarters Centralized Mentoring Program is the mentees' completion of a capstone project. During the program orientation's last day, January 15, mentees, grouped into teams, briefed senior leaders at U.S. Army Installation Management... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Mentees and mentors of the 2016 program pose together
3 / 3 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The mentors and mentees meet in-person at the College of Installation Management, January 12-15, to learn about the mentoring process and develop capstone projects. The program, which consists of 43 mentors and 36 mentors, supports the U.S. Army Inst... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SAM HOUSTON, TEXAS (January 18, 2016) -- Karen Perkins, human resources director of U.S. Army Installation Management Command, posed an intriguing question to 43 mentors and 36 mentees as they met in-person for the first time during the Headquarters Centralized Mentoring Program orientation January 12 at the College of the Installation Management on Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.

She asked: "Did you know that you could have a big impact on someone's life without even realizing it?" then showed them a video entitled "TEDxToronto -- Drew Dudley 'Leading with Lollipops'" (available online on YouTube).

Dudley, the video's speaker, told a story about the remarkable impression he left on a college peer after he persuaded another student to give her a lollipop during a campus registration event.

"How many of you guys have a lollipop moment, a moment where someone said something or did something that you feel fundamentally made your life better?" said Dudley.

"We need to redefine leadership as being about lollipop moments, how many of them we create, how many of them we acknowledge, how many of them we pay forward, and how many of them we say thank you for."

The command's mentoring program provides an opportunity for employees to find and give those lollipop moments. It is designed to build the bench for junior to mid-level civilian employees to become future leaders and future mentors that influence and shape the future workforce.

"The year-long program is comprised of unique developmental experiences," explained Amanda Rodriguez of IMCOM G1's Workforce Development team. "It includes an orientation phase and a job-shadow week, then culminates in a group project capstone event--all of which are aimed at building a multi-skilled and adaptive workforce."

New to the program this year is an active-duty Soldier pairing, according to Perkins.

Sgt. Maj. Lon Culbreath, of IMCOM G1, agreed to mentor Sgt. 1st Class Sherri Queen, a detachment sergeant at U.S. Army Garrison Japan, after reviewing her application. Although the program was initially opened to only civilian employees, the IMCOM G1 staff believed that active-duty Soldiers assigned to the command should participate.

"We all have a common mission to take care of Soldiers, Families and civilians," said Culbreath. "As we move forward into the future, it's important that we [Soldiers and civilians] are integrated together."

Even though the pair are stationed in different countries, they plan to regularly communicate through phone and email.

Culbreath's focus will be developing Queen's promotion eligibility for her next grade. She hopes to eventually become a sergeant major like him.

"I think it's critical for senior noncommissioned officers to have a mentor who can show them the path to achieving their goals," said Culbreath. "There are certain steps that she needs to get done in order to accomplish those goals, and I'm excited to help her reach them."

In the year ahead, the mentors and mentees will be seeking to give and receive those lollipop moments as they build a strong relationship which will hopefully last beyond the program.

"Although this is a year-long program, it doesn't mean that the mentor-mentee relationship ends then," said Rodriguez. "Mentoring can last a lifetime."

For more information about the Headquarters Centralized Mentoring Program, contact the IMCOM G1 Workforce Development at usarmy.jbsa.imcom-hq.list.g1-workforce-development-owner@mail.mil.

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